If new claims are to be believed, developer Avalanche Studios plans to showcase Contraband in action in the coming weeks, a year after its announcement.
Taking to Twitter earlier today, alleged Xbox insider Green Ninja claimed that Contraband will receive its first gameplay reveal at the upcoming Xbox and Bethesda Games Showcase next month.
Considering that Contraband was announced at the Xbox and Bethesda Games Showcase last year, it would be fitting for Avalanche Studios to use the same podium to reveal how the game is shaping up after a year.
Expecting a release date would perhaps be pushing it since Avalanche Studios has shared no updates since the game was announced. It is likely that Contraband will not be releasing any time soon.
(LEAK) We will also see the gameplay of Contraband. It is an open-world co-op heist game set in Malaysia.
— Green Ninja ❎ (@GreenNinja_17) May 17, 2022
Contraband is a highly ambitious project of Avalanche Studios, best known for the Just Cause franchise. The open-world cooperative game will task players and their friends to work together to pull off heists. There will presumably be a preparation stage where players go over maps and blueprints and equip different weapons and gadgets to increase their chances of success.
Contraband will be published by Xbox Game Studios and will hence be available on Xbox Game Pass on day one. Last October, Avalanche Studios CEO Pim Holfve explained that Xbox Game Pass will help the game reach a higher number of players, which is important since its cooperative design requires a large enough community for matchmaking.
Holfve also noted that approaching Microsoft for an Xbox Game Pass deal was all about growing the userbase, and not increasing revenue streams.
Contraband is in development for Xbox Series X|S and PC. There will be no PlayStation 5 release.
The Xbox and Bethesda Games Showcase will begin streaming live on June 12, 2022. You can keep an eye out on its schedule and timings here.
